Jonjo Shelvey's late double sealed the win after both sides had held the lead and the Ulsterman praised his youngsters' determination to fight back from a losing position to win, citing Tottenham's 3-2 Champions League defeat in 2010 as evidence that victory over the Swiss side was a fine achievement for his charges.

"I've got to give credit to the players, I thought they were absolutely magnificent," he told ITV Sport. "We had a very very young side and I think everyone saw when Tottenham came here a couple of years ago in the Champions League, how difficult a game they had but as I said I thought the boys were brilliant.

"It was a real tough game tonight and the biggest thing we showed tonight alongside our quality was our character. We've got a lot of young players, like everyone knows, within the group and to come from behind, in a European game, makes me really proud and it was a fantastic game to be involved in."

Rodgers brought several young players into the squad, including debutant Andre Wisdom, who crowned his Reds bow by scoring his side's second goal, a towering header, and the 39-year-old picked out the impact of one experienced head amongst them.

"I thought all the young players that came in were absolutely fantastic. The likes of Andre getting his first game, you can see he's quick, he's strong and he's good in the opponents' box, scored a terrific goal," he said.

"I thought young Suso was outstanding too, he's a real talent, the type of player I like. He's exciting and once he adds goals to his game he's going to be really outstanding.

"I thought overall, Jamie Carragher led from the back with his experience but the whole team was magnificent and the tactical discipline in the game was very good."

The former Swansea City boss also dismissed claims that he had been "brave" to field the much changed line-up, declaring that he had full belief in the players to come in and make the difference.

"I don't see it as courageous or brave," he insisted. "I just have trust in my players. I think we're getting to grips with the players we have available to us.

"We've still got a long way to go but the most important characteristic is our fight and from all the senior players to the young players, we're very much one club and we've seized an opportunity today, especially the young players.

"But most importantly, it's great to get three points in the first game."